Mixed Martial Arts Readies for First Legal Event in Maryland

Last summer, Columbia native Ryan Mackin flew to Thailand to find an opponent he could legally punch, kick, elbow and knee.

This month, he'll hardly have to leave home.

"I had to take a 30-hour flight to Thailand for my last fight," said Mackin, who is fighting this weekend in the first legal mixed martial arts event in Maryland history. "It means a great deal to me that I'm able to wake up and take a cab to my next fight."

Mackin, 27, a wrestling coach at Hammond High School, in Columbia, is one of 22 fighters competing Oct. 24 at 1st Mariner Arena, in Baltimore.

The card, promoted by Shogun Fights, is the result of a multiyear struggle to legalize the sport once derided by U.S. Sen. John McCain as "human cockfighting." The sport is now legal and regulated by athletic commissions in 40 states.

Mixed martial arts is banned in New York and West Virginia and unregulated in the other eight.

Baltimore native John Rallo has emerged as the face of mixed martial arts in Maryland. He runs the state's best known school, Ground Control -- which recently opened a new location in Columbia -- and led the charge to get the sport legalized...More?

source: columbia flier